Changes are coming to tax returns, and the nonprofit lender DreamSpring aims to help small business owners prepare. Join DreamSpring on Zoom on February 3, 2026, at 12:00 pm to learn about the changes brought about by the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
Continue readingTag Archives: small business loans
Small Businesses Gain with Year-End Giving
Philanthropic giving is approaching $600 billion annually in the United States, and New Mexicans do their part every year to underwrite the causes that matter most to them. Often overlooked among worthy food bank and animal welfare nonprofits are organizations that promote grass-roots economic development. Nonprofit lenders that offer business assistance — LiftFund, DreamSpring, and others — rely on private giving to support and enable individual entrepreneurship in our state.
Microlenders such as these manage separate pools of private and public money, which they make available as loans and lines of credit to small businesses — especially startup businesses and those in chronically underserved communities and populations. They also support their clients’ success through other services, such as business counseling, training, and mentoring.
Thoughtful contributions — sometimes known as social investments — to any one of these organizations have a way of living indefinitely into the future.
Continue readingMeet the Lenders
Several nonprofit small business lenders are hosting events to introduce themselves and their clients to small businesses and communities in New Mexico who may not be aware of the loans and services they provide.
Continue readingClearinghouse CDFI Boosts Housing
Clearinghouse CDFI has provided a $550,000 refinance loan for a multi-family affordable housing property in Clovis, New Mexico. Clearinghouse CDFI is a direct lender financing projects that create jobs and services to help people live, work, dream, grow, and thrive in healthy communities.
Continue readingHow to Manage a Nonprofit
Nonprofit organizations have the same challenges as for-profit businesses – they must address everything from sales to human resources as they deliver on their mission. Unfortunately, good intentions and a solid mission aren’t enough to build a sustainable organization, no matter how worthy the cause.
Continue readingB:Side Lenders and Lunch
B:Side Fund and Capital want to help small business owners access capital to grow their business. The nonprofit lender will lead an interactive session at the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce on October 8, 2025.
Continue readingWhat are the 5 Cs of Credit?
Owners looking for a loan for their small business should be familiar with the 5 Cs of Credit. Character, capital, collateral, capacity, and conditions determine if a traditional lender will offer a loan to a business owner. New and aspiring business owners can learn about the 5 Cs of Credit on Thursday, October 2, 2025, in a workshop hosted by the nonprofit lender WESST.
Continue readingLoan Funds a New Sense of Purpose
Cambri Gardner learned about the medical spa industry through her mother, a registered nurse working at a Colorado medical spa. Gardner now works alongside her mother at Roswell Aesthetics & Wellness, the business Gardner purchased in 2023 with the help of the nonprofit lender The Loan Fund.
Gardner had spent much of her professional career in sales and was ready for a change. “Sales was not fun for me,” said Gardner. “I really didn’t feel like I was benefiting people.”
In 2018, Gardner began working at a medical spa and was soon studying to obtain laser certification. Becoming an esthetician gave her a new sense of purpose, she said. “Seeing the changes that benefit people not just on the inside but on the outside, I felt was more life-changing for me.”
Continue readingLease or Buy a Building?
Owners of businesses seeing an increase in profits often wonder if they should continue to lease their building or buy one of their own. Increasing profit is just one factor to consider when deciding if it’s time to buy a commercial building. Many other factors are just as important.
Continue readingWESST Doubles Down to Help Businesses
The nonprofit organization WESST is strategically restructuring to serve businesses and startups throughout New Mexico well into the future. Much like the advice WESST consultants give business owners facing changes in the marketplace, WESST is responding to a volatile nonprofit-funding environment.
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